Metro bus driver shot, killed in West Hollywood

The 51-year-old driver was leaving a layover area near Santa Monica Boulevard and West Knoll Drive when the lone passenger allegedly shot him. The passenger was taken into custody, but the motive is unknown.

The scene on Santa Monica Boulevard, near West Knoll Drive in West Hollywood,… (Jay L. Clendenin, Los Angeles…)

A suspect has been detained in the fatal shooting of a Metro bus driver Sunday morning in West Hollywood, authorities said.

Shortly after 9 a.m. the 51-year old bus driver on Route 105 was leaving an MTA layover area near the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and West Knoll Drive when the shooting occurred, said MTA spokesman Rick Jager.

The driver was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and died at 9:30 a.m. The name of the driver, a five-year veteran of the agency, has not been released.

The shooter, the lone passenger at the time, was detained at the scene by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, a sheriff's spokesman said. The motive for the shooting is unclear.

Two weapons were recovered at the scene, authorities said. As deputies searched the bus they found a suspicious package, which was removed by the bomb squad.

Metro officials were stunned by the shooting.

"It's a tragedy. We don't know why this happened," said Art Leahy, Metro's chief executive, who went to the scene and then to the driver's division to speak with other employees.

"It's the first time I've ever known this to happen in my career here," said Leahy, who started at Metro as a bus driver in 1974. "It's terrible."